Carla Jones Fitness Model Interview and Photos

0

Carla is a certified personal trainer and has been a group exercise instructor for 15 years. She started competing 6 years ago as a bodybuilder and now she is a figure competitor. She thanks God for blessing her with a passion for training, eating, and competing. Carla was competing in the Bikini Universe Pageant in Miami Beach, FL and for the first time in her life she found herself in a photo shoot and the next thing she knew she was on the cover of Fitness & Physique Magazine. This year Carla was selected to be in the Arnold Classic Fitness Fashion show.


Carla Jones Fitness Model Statistics

  • Name: Carla Jones
  • Height: 5’3
  • Weight: 125
  • Hair Color: Blonde/Brown
  • Bust: 34
  • Waist: 25
  • Hips: 35
  • Location: Maryland
  • Website: www.carlitafitness.com

Carla Jones Fitness Model Interview

How did you get started in the fitness modeling field?
I was born in Portugal and I am married with a 5-year-old son. I own a concrete construction firm. I also am an ACE certified personal trainer and manage to teach group exercise classes at 3 local gym (for fun). I am active in the nursery, usher, and health & fitness ministries at my church.

It is actually funny how it started a couple of years ago. I was competing in the Bikini Universe Pageant in Miami Beach, FL and for the first time in my life found myself in a photo shoot with Gordon Smith and Matt Shepley and the next thing I know I was on the cover of Fitness & Physique Magazine. I was also asked to model work out clothes for Lidia Conti’s website (designer of my competition suits). This year I was selected to be in the Arnold Classic Fitness Fashion show. So I can actually say, never say it is too late or you are too old. I am 36 years old and this is a new beginning!

What is the #1 thing you like best about being into fitness?
I love the challenge of training and dieting and of course the results! I also enjoy the fact that I am touching someone out there who is discouraged about their weight or how they look or feel. I try to encourage people to exercise and eat healthy. I also want be a good role model especially since I am a mother, wife, business owner and Christian

What has been your biggest accomplishment in the fitness field?
I would have to say making the cover of a magazine was very exciting and I praise God for my highlight this year – 1st Place Overall Winner in the NPC BodyRock Figure Championships.

What is the best way to get started in the fitness modeling industry? Should I just contact the photographers directly or should I use an agency?
I would say if you compete it is so easy to get noticed because you have event photographers and other magazines and media readily available. Also you do not have to worry about those photographers who really are just trying to use you and take your pictures for purposes other than advertising fitness if you know what I mean.

Please describe a typical day for you. What is your daily routine like?
I make breakfast and my son’s lunch for school. I drop him off at preschool. I go to the office (I own a concrete construction firm). After work, I pick up my son and take him to karate or basketball practice or to the gym with me. I teach a class and then I train a couple of body parts. I go home and eat dinner.

I don’t have that much time during the day to workout, so I really want to burn major calories in a short amount of time. What is the #1 “bang for the buck” cardio exercise I should do to burn serious calories?
I would have to say running. That is how I shed off excess pounds and fat. It is the most intense cardiovascular exercise for me and I run about 3 miles in 30 minutes which burns approx 400 calories.

How much weight (pounds) should I focus on losing every week? What is a safe amount to make sure I keep it off?
1-2 lbs per week is healthy, but not easy either. Sometimes we are losing muscle mass along with body fat, so I would not look at the scale as much as your body fat composition. With your body fat percentage you can calculate how much lean mass you have.

What type of food or supplements should I take before and after my workouts to help me see results in gaining lean muscle and losing fat?
I usually eat a protein bar or drink a protein shake an hour before I go to the gym and after my work out I eat a meal consisting of lean protein and low carbs and high in fiber (greens). I eat protein bar and protein shake every day between meals to keep my protein intake high without having to eat chicken 5 times a day: I also recommend fat burner pills a couple of months before a goal or date in mind to speed up metabolism and help burn more fat. It also curbs your appetite.

How do you deal with cravings for junk foods, sweets and salty food? I can stay on a diet for maybe a few weeks but I eventually get really bad cravings and binge on snacks and fast foods.
I find it healthy to cheat every once in a while. I will go a few weeks also and then crash and eat something sweet, salty, and whatever else I find in front of me! I just get back on track the next day and act like it didn’t happen, Sometimes our body needs to be shocked. I admit I eat clean but sometimes I cheat too. You will still continue to lose weight and see results.

I’m trying to create a healthy shopping list to stick with. What are some of the main foods I should include to maintain a lean and muscular physique?
I tend to buy a lot of chicken or turkey breasts, lean ground turkey and beef, codfish, whiting, orange roughy, salmon, cans low sodium tuna, eggs (no yolks), oatmeal, white and sweet potatoes, brown rice, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, mustard greens, string beans, lettuce, cucumbers, no salt rice cakes and gallons of water.

I’m about 35 pounds overweight. I have never started an exercise program and really don’t know where to start. What tips can you give me to get started on the right track?
I would say just start off really slow, taking a few things out of your diet a little at a time. Don’t give up everything cold turkey or you won’t last more than a week. Start by giving up fried foods and condiments, then after a few weeks give up sodas and sweets, and then after a few more weeks eat less breads and pastas, etc.

With exercise start by parking far away so you can walk more, take the stairs instead of elevator. Go for a walk around neighborhood or ride your bike. You can join a gym and have more of a selection of equipment to tone up your muscles and also take a variety of aerobics classes – which are fun!

I tend to eat out most of the time and really don’t know what healthy foods to order from the menu. What tips do you recommend for eating out at restaurants to make sure my diet will not suffer?
Eating is always tough for me too, so I stick with ordering a garden salad with vinaigrette dressing and a grilled chicken or fish meal with rice or plain potato and steamed vegetables. If I already had my carbs for the day I skip the rice or potato and substitute it with a double order of steamed vegetables.

What exercises do you recommend for getting a bigger, rounder and fuller butt?
I recommend heavier squats, lunges, and dead lifts. I would also recommend say the stair climber and walking on the treadmill on a steep incline.

What is the most challenging thing you deal with about consistently staying in top shape?
The most challenging thing is eating clean around my family and at cookouts. It is so hard to say no to good food when it is staring you in the face and people tell you to eat it because it isn’t going to kill you. I just have to stay focused and think about how I will look on stage and then it is totally worth when I see the pictures and TROPHIES to prove the end result.

Please describe your normal diet. What do you eat in a typical day to stay in shape?

  • Breakfast: protein pancake (6 egg whites, ½ cup oatmeal, 2 tbls flaxseed meal) 2 tbls sugar free syrup
  • Mid-Morning Snack: Pure Protein Bar, coffee
  • Lunch: Chicken Breast, small sweet potato, asparagus, diet coke
  • Mid-Afternoon Snack: Myoplex Lite Shake
  • Dinner: Garden salad w/salmon and vinaigrette dressing

What type of exercises do you include in your routine to stay in shape?

Strength Training Exercises:

  • Back: Pull-ups, Pull downs, Rows
  • Chest: Bench press, Incline bench press, Butterflies
  • Biceps: Hammer curls, angled curls, preacher curls
  • Triceps: Overhead triceps press, triceps press, Dips
  • Shoulders: Military press, Lateral and front Deltoid raises, Shoulder shrugs, Rear deltoid raises, upright rows
  • Legs: Smith machine squats, plie squats, dead lifts, walking lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, inner-outer thigh, donkey calf raises
  • Abs: hanging leg raises, crunches on the ball, v-ups, partial sit ups on decline bench

Cardio Exercises:

  • I teach step aerobic classes 45-60minutes.
  • Walking uphill (incline) 30 minutes
  • Run 30 minutes (or 3miles)
  • Stair climber 30 minutes
  • Spin (cycle) 30 minutes
  • Elliptical 30minutes

Additional Training:

  • Bootcamp classes

What are the top 5 tips (specific exercises, diet advice, etc) you recommend for developing toned and defined arms?

1. Do the exercise slowly with a full range of motion

2. Don’t forget to do cardio along weight training.

3. I recommend a few Biceps exercises: Hammer curls, alternating dumbbell curls, preacher curls

4. I also recommend a few Triceps exercised: Overhead triceps press, Cable triceps press, Dips

5. Eat more protein and less bread, pastas, fried foods, sweets, salty and fatty foods.

What are your top 5 tips for losing unwanted body fat?

1. Lean towards eating more lean protein less carbs and less dairy and fruit.

2. Eat a small meal every 3 hours.

3. Do cardio 4-5 times per week.

4. Train each body part at least once a week and do 4 sets of 20 of each exercise.

5. Drink at least a gallon of water each day.

What are your top 5 tips for gaining lean muscle mass?

1. Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound you weigh

2. Eat more carbs

3. Train heavier with lower repetitions 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions

4. Continue cardio at least 3-4 times per week

5. Eat at least 5-6 small meals every day

What are the top 5 tips you recommend for staying motivated on a fitness plan and truly making a healthy lifestyle change?

1. Set a realistic goal.

2. Reward yourself to a new outfit not junk food. Buy new workout clothes so it will keep you motivated to wear them and see your body transform in them too!

3. Clean out the pantry, kitchen cabinets and refrigerator. Only buy healthy low-fat foods for home. Also, get the family to participate on the healthy change.

4. Make exercise fun – do it in the neighborhood, park, beach, cook-outs, vacation and include family and friends.

5. Have a training partner or friend that is living a healthy lifestyle keep you in check. It is great to have people in your life that can motivate you or keep you on your toes. Personal trainers get paid to do that.

What is your training routine like? (Please include a few details – training split, sets/reps, exercises, types of cardio, etc.)

  • Monday: Teach Step aerobics class, Back 3 exercises 20 reps each, Biceps 3 exercises 20 reps each, Abs 3 exercises 20 reps each
  • Tuesday: Teach Step aerobics class, Deltoids 4 exercises 20 reps each, Chest 3 exercise 20 reps each, Triceps 3 exercises 20 reps each, Abs 3 exercises 20 reps each
  • Wednesday: run 3 miles
  • Thursday: Legs 6 exercises 20 reps each, Abs 3 exercises 20 reps each, stair climber 30 minutes
  • Friday: run 3 miles
  • Saturday: Teach Step aerobics class, Legs 6 exercises 20 reps each, Abs 3 exercises 20 reps each
  • Sunday: spin (cycle) 30 minutes

What are the top 5 tips (specific exercises, diet advice, etc) you recommend for losing fat around the stomach and developing a toned and defined midsection?

1. Do cardio 4-5x week

2. Eat more protein and less dairy and fruit and breads, carbs and fat

3. Drink at least a gallon of water each day

4. Do high repetitions of hanging leg raises, on the ball crunches, v-ups, and partial sit-ups on decline bench

5. Eat a small meal every 3 hours

What are the top 5 tips (specific exercises, diet advice, etc) you recommend for toning the thighs, hips and butt?

1. I recommend, squats, lunges, dead lifts, inner outer thigh, leg extension, and leg curls

2. I suggest regular deep tissue or sports massages to relieve sore muscles and lactic acid build up

3. Running, stair climber, and spinning are great for the legs, do a variety of cardiovascular sessions to work all the muscles in the legs.

4. Eat less dairy and fruit and bread and drink more water.

5. Train with lighter weight and do more repetitions (at least 20 reps each exercise)

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join over 175,000 ShapeFit subscribers who are receiving our free weekly fitness newsletter and learn how you can build more muscle, burn off body fat and get into the best shape of your life!
We hate spam! Your email address will never be sold or shared with anyone. You can unsubscribe at anytime.
Share.

About Author

ShapeFit.com is dedicated to providing health and fitness information to people so they can live a healthy lifestyle. ShapeFit has thousands of pages of fitness content with fun and interactive tools to help our visitors lose body fat, build lean muscle and increase their energy levels. We wish you great success in reaching your health and fitness goals!

Leave A Reply